Friday, January 2, 2009

Happy New Year!

Well, I must admit there are some pretty darn good benefits to living in the desert.

We welcomed in the New Year yesterday by hanging out outside ALL day long. And it was gorgeous.

We went on a family run in the morning. It was pretty funny how many other runners we saw out there with the same idea. And it was pretty sad that I didn't stick my little camera in the double stroller so I could capture it...it was so beautiful. So, just imagine the pictures I had to take in my head:

--five ragamuffin kids, hair all skiwampus kind of glowing all backlit so perfectly in the sun--one super handsome Dad pushing the jogging stroller and being the personal trainer to keep all the kids motivated to keep running (Claire ran most of the time...Lu even ran for part of it)--stopping to see the dogs all yapping at us on the way--stopping to feed the goats and some crazy looking chickens...again, sunlight glowing creating halos around my kids' heads--stopping to take in how beautiful the three horses were who meandered over to the fence to see such a crazy group passing along the street--all of us soaking in Lu's delight at the animals and copying all their different noises

We came home and I had eleven little girls help me clean out my car in the driveway...and then proceed to get in a serious water fight, which turned from dripping wet clothes to swimsuits and a lemonade stand before long.

We quit all the outdoor stuff just in time to get cleaned up and head out to dinner and a movie with Dave's sister and her husband while all our kids played together and had a big sleepover.

On New Year's Eve we hung out with a bunch of friends and made these cool hot air balloon things with the kids and let them pretty much take over the night blowing their celebration horns starting at 9:30 and lasting until past midnight. I still have a little bit of a headache. But we had a great time. Some people left before we broke out the Martinellis at midnight.Max proclaimed it the best New Years Eve ever.Grace was pretty darn tuckered the next day.

Now I just need to try to wrap my head around the fact that it is 2009. It seems like I was just wondering how it would be to be in the 2000s.

Hey Shawni, Julia came home saying "yes mother dear" to me. I couldn't figure it out for awhile and then she told me that Claire's mom taught her that in her CTR lesson. Love it! If only it would last..